


Christmas Dreaming

by worldsworstclown



Category: Little House on the Prairie (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe- 1980s, Canon Divergence, Cuddling, Fluff, M/M, Sharing Clothes, albert’s grumpy, both of them are way too awkward, willie’s a himbo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:36:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28272495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worldsworstclown/pseuds/worldsworstclown
Summary: After it snows it’s always too bright out. Albert doesn’t like when it’s too bright- Willie doesn’t care.
Relationships: Albert Quinn Ingalls/Willie Oleson
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Christmas Dreaming

**Author's Note:**

> its the 80s and snowing. thats basically it. albert complains a lot though. 
> 
> this is INCREDIBLY CLICHE !! but they deserve the happiness since nbc cant do that for shit <3
> 
> also, as per my last lhotp fanfic, this is set in the lhotpotvu (little house on the prairie original tv universe) instead of the season 9 lhotpftavcu (little house on the prairie fake tv and cinematic universe) which is why it’s considered canon divergence.

After it snows, it’s too bright out. The sun reflects on the now-melting snow and it’s like a flashlight in the middle of the woods. The snow near the roads will be covered with dirt and gravel and some leftover leaves and Albert despises that. He tries not to be a negative person- he just wants to enjoy his life- but he can’t seem to find the fun in that. He doesn’t mind when it snows, and while he knows he’ll have to help Charles with shoveling, which is a pain, he still loves looking at the snow as it falls. 

His favorite part of when it snows is when it’s in the middle; the ground and trees are covered in it, and the sky is dark and the lights try to shine through the blankets of snow but as the wind picks up and the shutters shake they start to fail. That's when Albert really enjoys himself. He can sit in his bed all warm with a book he checked out from the library before it started to snow. Or, he can pretend he’s doing something when in reality he’s just daydreaming out the window. Sometimes he’ll think about when he can get a good night’s sleep because he hasn’t had one of those in a while. Other times he’ll think about what he and Willie would be doing during the snowstorm if they were together and not locked away in buildings too far from each other. 

Maybe they’d be alone at the Oleson’s, and they’d have to quickly get firewood before it gets too cold because even though there’s internal heating everything feels too cold- too distant. They’ll burst through the front doors and shut them quickly, dropping the wood with drips of water falling onto the carpet into the fireplace as fast as they can. Their noses and glove covered hands would be red and freezing, like they fell into the lake during a night in early spring. And then, Albert will feel warm. The couch is seated far enough from the fireplace where he doesn’t worry about feeling too hot or feeling too cold. He's fully comfortable; especially when he’s cuddling Willie. The windows are thin enough where he can faintly hear the howls of the strong wind outside, and he could turn his head to see the snow hit the glass harshly, but he’d rather rest his head against Willie’s and relax. He would slip his hand into Willie’s and squeeze, smiling widely as he feels Willie squeeze back. Even if the phone fell off it’s cord somehow and knocked into the wall in the kitchen, they wouldn’t be bothered. 

But that’s not happening to Albert, and he’s mad about it. There’s supposed to be yet another snowstorm tonight- and it’s almost Christmas- so he’s not surprised that the Oleson’s were so busy that he couldn’t even walk in. He’s standing outside with his back resting against the bed of his dad’s truck, arms crossed and definitely pouting. He's squinting so much that he just decides to shut his eyes fully because the snow’s too bright. Everything’s giving him a headache. The windchime across the street is too constant and too loud; the baby crying somewhere in the distance reminds him too much of his house; and the engine roaring even farther away is too annoying. 

His mood is worsened when he’s hit in the back of the head with a snowball. Some of the snow clings to his black hair and it feels heavy, the rest drops down his coat and into the back of his sweater.  
As he grumpily turns around though, he feels better. The snow in his hair doesn’t feel as heavy and the melting snow on his back just feels like it’s supposed to be there. The sun’s reflection isn’t as bright and his head starts to lessen its pounding against his temples and behind his eyes. The tips of his ears and his nose are still bright red and cold though, so are his cheeks that stand out against his skin, but he doesn’t mind it anymore. 

Willie waves to him with one hand, the other holding a shovel that he leaves in the snow bank as he walks over to Albert. Willie's smile is brighter than the snow in the sun and the blue sky, but it makes Albert feel something. Albert thinks his life will always be enjoyable if he could see that smile everyday. And he can, they see each other at school and church, but Albert wants it to be more intimate. He’s tired of nervous laughs when Willie gets or says something too close or the flutter in his stomach whenever he just sees him. He just wants to mean something more to Willie. In any other circumstance, he would’ve done something by now. Albert doesn’t wait- well he does, he’s not that impatient, but if it involves his emotions he’ll just push aside any nerves and move on- but he has to. He can’t ask Willie if he’s into men, and if he is if he likes Albert, and if he does would he mind if they were boyfriends? Albert knows how people would act and talk. He knows what could happen if someone heard something, and that leaves a knot in his stomach and little tremors in his body after he cries over it; the creases of his eyes and his throat dry. He's not ashamed of being himself, he’s afraid. 

But he’s not sure if Willie actually cares about what Albert does. 

Willie's loud. He wraps his arm around Albert's neck and holds his hand, draping his other arm against Albert's chest; his coat noisily scratching as he adjusts himself.  
He's talking loudly, but Albert assumes it’s because of the wind.  
“How’s it going dude? You seem kind of tired.” He pokes Albert’s cheek. 

Albert huffs. Willie's been forward when they were growing up, but he’s even more forward now.  
“I’m not tired. Just bored- my dad’s been in there for a while and he forgot to unlock the door.” 

“Bad forgetting on Charles’ part-“ Albert rolls his eyes at that, “-you wanna come inside? You know it’s only gonna get colder waiting out here.” Willie slightly unwraps his arms from Albert and starts walking them to the back door even without Albert's answer. But it’s not like Albert would’ve ever said no; that’d be stupid, and Albert doesn’t think he’s stupid- dumb, sometimes. 

When they step inside, Albert's hit with hot air but he quickly adjusts to it. His ears ring a bit and his fingers feel like they’re touching nothing, but he knows it’ll pass. He hears Willie faintly ask his dad to tell Charles that Albert's just warming up in his room. He feels a little useless just standing around and doing nothing, but Albert doesn’t know what he’d do besides stretching up a bit on his feet and kissing Willie. 

His ears unblock as they walk up to Willie’s bedroom, not before Willie takes off his and Albert's coats and hangs them on the coat rack, kicking off their shoes too. Albert's always loved Willie's bedroom more than his. He doesn’t have to share it with a little brother who never stops asking questions, and it has a bigger desk and window to daydream at. His bed is more comfortable too. Albert's taken a lot of naps on it after school when he’d be too exhausted to even look at his homework; but Willie’s never complained. He'd wake up somehow covered in the soft comforter and look over to see Willie smiling at him- and Albert could see only fondness in his eyes. 

Albert remembers where he is after hearing Willie's door click close.  
“I never got to even throw a snowball back at you. That was a poor fight, you know.” He stays resting against the wall near the door as Willie unbuttons the jacket he somehow fit under his coat. 

Willie starts to laugh. “So? That’s called a stalemate, you know.” 

“No it’s not?” Albert laughs with him, but he’s reminded of the snow on his back when his shoulders shake and it drips down further.  
“You got my shirt all wet!” 

Willie furrows his eyebrows. “That’s not my fault- I didn’t make it snow.”

Albert gives him a point (he’s not wrong), but he starts to take off his green sweater anyway, revealing his Black Sabbath shirt underneath. Albert rolls his eyes again. He doesn’t mind Black Sabbath, it’s just that Willie has worn that shirt to school for a week; and Albert assumes it’s because Harriet would never let him wear it in the house- with it being “the devil’s music” and all. His shirt lifted a bit when he took off his sweater, revealing the tiniest bit of skin, but Albert’s mind lost it anyway. He’s seen Willie shirtless before many, many, times, but he’s so mentally exhausted from dealing with hiding his feelings that he gave up. But, before he could run across the room and throw himself onto Willie, and confess his undying love for him and his desire to run away to a supposedly haunted mansion in the lush and evergreen forest together; he’s hit in the face with Willie’s sweater. Albert shakes his head as it falls to his feet, and he stares dumbfoundedly at Willie. 

“You weren’t listening to me! Just take yours off and wear mine, man!” 

Albert’s heart pounds again like it usually does around Willie, especially because Willie’s walking back over to him and lifting his shirt off.  
“I can take it off myself,” Albert grumbles, his cheeks reddening like he just stepped back into the freezing wind, but allows Willie to do it anyway. Willie picks up his sweater off the floor and lays it on Albert's head as he throws Albert's sweater behind his shoulder- it lands on the floor. He obviously doesn’t mind, since he just lays on his bed and stares at Albert. Albert feels his blush deepen as he takes his shirt off, and he’s surprised that Willie looks up to his ceiling for it. Albert's heart hurts from looking at willie: he thinks he’s too beautiful, and he even thinks he can see some blush forming on Willie's cheeks too. 

They both can feel the tension. Not like they’d normally do anything about it- they’ve experienced this odd feeling before countless times- but Albert’s decided he’ll finally change that. 

He throws himself onto Willie’s bed as it bounces back and as Willie chuckles. Willie sits up and faces Albert; and he can tell easily that Willie was blushing just as much as he was. Albert smiles softly, and speaks even softer.  
“Can I ask you something?”

Willie’s serious- for once- and nods his head slowly. 

Albert takes a deep breath, but he and Willie speak at the same time, each accidentally blurting it out: “do you like me?” 

The tension disperses into giggles as they lean against each other and laugh. Albert’s heart and stomach still feel heavy a bit, but it’s a good feeling. He likes being with willie. He likes feeling his body shake from laughter and happiness. He likes being covered by Willie’s sweater that’s a bit too big on him and smells like the cologne that Willie apparently uses; Albert thought it’d be too strong and annoying but it’s perfect.  
Albert lifts his head up from where he rested it on Willie's chest and sighs. “Well, do you?”

Willie nods quickly, still smiling brightly. He inhales a bit and tilts and turns his head down slightly. Albert's heart starts racing as he thinks about what could happen. If they kiss- which Albert's been waiting for since the seventh grade- would they start dating? Would Harriet run in and ruin it, sobbing loudly as she clambers and runs down the stairs and yells about corruption through her ignorance? Would he ever have to tell his parents? Or Laura or Mary? Or James or Cassandra or Carrie? 

Albert's mind stops racing but his heart continues to as he feels a gentle hand tilt his chin up and he blinks slowly as he stares back into Willie's green eyes. His mind foggily registers Willie asking him, softer than he’s ever spoken, “do you?” and he barely understands or remembers the context but he knows to nod. His eyes flutter closed as their lips connect. Albert thinks he’s a little too excited this early into whatever their relationship now is, but that doesn’t stop him from moving his arms to wrap around Willie’s neck as Willie rests one hand near their knees that keep knocking against each other; the other slid from Albert's face to his ribs. Albert can feel them both smile into the kiss and he can’t remember anything besides how happy he finally is- and also how good it is to finally kiss Willie after pinning after him for 5 years. 

Albert doesn’t worry at that moment. He doesn’t think about the future call the Oleson’s will get from Charles saying that he can stay over with Willie as long as they stay safe during the snowstorm. He doesn’t think about how people will act if they find them intertwined with each other and happy. All Albert- and Willie- could think about is how comfortable they are with each other. Even when the sky turns into a darker blue and the wind starts to howl like in Albert's daydreams, and the wooden branches of empty trees knock against the fogging windows; they still sigh deeper and cuddle closer together, falling asleep with their worries free and their hearts content.


End file.
